The 12th iteration of Drift Indy’s No Star Bash provided the promised seat time, homie hangs and party atmosphere that everyone has come to expect from the biggest bash on our yearly calendar.
Following on the heels of the brand spanking new touge and DISL Vol. 10 down in Corbin, NSB XII was a perfect return to Kil-kare. For anyone unfamiliar with NSB (where have you been?), it’s a 3-day drift bash that we’re slowly building into something of a festival. Vendors, food trucks and musical performances make for a really rad experience off the track, while a near-constantly hot track and trains of 15+ drift cars give drivers and spectators alike as much driving as they could want.
It was rad to see Kyle Antonovich's 240 back out on the track.
In contrast to our relatively strict DISL acceptance standards, NSB is open to most anyone and is first-come, first-served until the 150 or so spots are filled.
For the dudes that come to drive the wheels off their cars, there’s every opportunity to turn about a million laps. For the folks that want to get in some good laps here and there tandeming with their homies before chilling in the pits with some bomb-ass food from one of the food trucks, that’s perfectly fine, too.
The grid Friday and Saturday night of NSB is always pretty insane. Sitting right by the start line while 15 drift cars gas it past you is a super cool experience, and one you’d be hard-pressed to find many other places.
Killers, one and all. Trust me.
NSB also has a habit of bringing out some new faces. At the “how many of you have never driven here at Kil-kare before?” question during the drivers’ meeting, it felt like about a fifth of the crowd put their hands up. That’s in comparison to maybe three or four hands at our regular events. This year, we were joined by Team Deep Sleep out of St. Louis and Aussie pro and YouTuber Luke Fink.
The drifting started off during the drivers’ meeting on Friday with a solid demo lap from JP Hunnicutt, giving all the new faces a nice example of how to make it around Kil-kare. The Dayton Boys were out in force for the weekend, filling their usual spot front and center in the pits with their usual style.
On the subject of teams, Team Shade brought their usual, impressive cohesion and shredded together all weekend. The Maxdout Mafia boys showed out in their signature pink whips, this time with a little extra ‘Merica in their ranks thanks to the addition of Trey Atkinson’s new Vette. Team Bad Blood, Novice Mob, the Fortune Fleet and the Dumpedlings rounded out the roster of teams of Drift Indy regulars in attendance.
Always fun to see the pool noodles make an appearance!
Friday and Sunday of NSB tend to bookend a balls-to-the-wall Saturday, but Friday night this year was plenty rad. We got a packed grid and plenty of trains, so no complaints from me.
One of the biggest (physically and metaphorically) new additions this year was the stage. Anyone that’s been to a Drift Indy event knows we’re always bumping some nicely curated playlists, but this year we stepped it up a little with some live DJ sets and a live band Saturday night.
Drift Indy’s own Shawn Allgood, AKA Big Sucio, went back-to-back with guest artist DJ D-Link. I couldn’t tell you what DJs are actually doing when they’re fondling all those little switches up there, but those two are damn good at it.
I closed Friday night out eating a food truck grilled cheese and listening to those two.
We had a few more folks roll in Saturday that couldn’t make it Friday, but then NSB’s main day got underway. I’d be lying if I said everybody was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the drivers’ meeting, but for the most part it felt like everybody’s hangovers were mostly being dealt with by an array of energy drinks and NSAIDs.
Saturday was a lot like Friday, just with the driving intensity and party vibes dialed up a few more notches. Groups A and B killed it, and it was a ton of fun getting to watch group C progressing. With as much seat time as NSB gives drivers, there’s tons of room for newer folks to learn and improve.
Luke Fink in the lead, with Clint Stotts and Josh Estey in the chase.
This year was pretty wreck-free for the most part, too. It’s not uncommon to see a decent-sized pile up from one of the trains, but everyone did a really solid job holding it together this year. We had to bring the tow truck out a few times and at least one car absolutely smacked the big drain hole, but it was a pretty drama-free weekend.
Saturday night is traditionally the real main event for NSB, and this year was no different. As the sun set and the track lights flickered on, everyone was treated to a glorious, packed grid of drift cars. In between single runs and tandems, the top party line got fired off. Picture mag-dumping a full magazine of drift cars and you’ll get a pretty good mental image of what it’s like. Badass.
A damn cool sight.
After watching what felt like about a million laps (no complaints, though), the track shutdown and the party moved into the pits. The band What She Said took the stage, and the drift trains turned into conga lines. Wholesome vibes all around.
Sunday is always such a nice, chill ending to an otherwise hectic weekend. Folks start packing up and rolling out, and those of the drivers that feel up to it get even more laps in.
All in all, No Star Bash XII was a damn good time. As we work to introduce new aspects, like the stage, and look to attract more vendors, the party vibes are only gonna get better. I barely even noticed the lack of a Roller Dog Championship this year! My fingers are still crossed that we get to see that return sometime though. Anyways, here’s to a hell of an event. I can’t wait to see everybody for number XIII.
